Sofa bed assembly

ABSTRACT

A sofa bed assembly including a support means, a seat frame, a back frame, and connection means supporting the frames on the support means for pivotal movement relative to one another and movement between an upright seat position and a lowered bed position. A pair of reaction plates extend from the back frame and a pair of cam members are rotatably connected to the seat frame in a pendulum manner and include lower cam surfaces which engage the top surfaces of the reaction plates upon upward pivotal movement of the seat frame when the bed position so that upon downward movement thereafter the back frame is moved to the upright seat position. Upon slight upward pivotal movement of the seat frame when in the seat position, the cams will fall under the force of gravity to a release position whereby the frames may be moved to the bed position. There is also included a latch means comprising a flange extending from the support means to coact with a slot in a rear member of the seat frame. The slot is disposed in an overlapping position above and rearwardly of the flange when the assembly is in the seat position whereby the flange may be moved through the slot to the overlapping position as the frames are moved to the seat position to prevent movement of the frames by coaction of the flange and the rear member of the seat frame until the seat frame is pivoted upward slightly to align the slot with the flange whereby it may be moved forwardly to move the rear member forwardly of the flange.

United States Patent Hern et al.

[ SOFA BED ASSEMBLY Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-Barnard,McGlynn & Reising 5 7] ABSTRACT A sofa bed assembly including a supportmeans, a seat frame,

a back frame, and connection means supporting the frames on the supportmeans for pivotal movement relative to one another and movement betweenan upright seat position and a lowered bed position. A pair of reactionplates extend from the back frame and a pair of cam members arerotatably connected to the seat frame in a pendulum manner and includelower cam surfaces which engage the top surfaces of the reac tion platesupon upward pivotal movement of the seat frame when the bed position sothat upon downward movement thereafter the back frame is moved to theupright seat position. Upon slight upward pivotal movement of the seatframe when in the seat position, the cams will fall under the force ofgravity to a release position whereby the frames may be moved to the bedposition. There is also included a latch means comprising a flangeextending from the support means to coact with a slot in a rear memberof the seat frame. The slot is disposed in an overlapping position aboveand rearwardly of the flange when the assembly is in the seat positionwhereby the flange may be moved through the slot to the overlappingposition as the frames are moved to the seat position to preventmovement of the frames by coaction of the flange and the rear member ofthe seat frame until the seat frame is pivoted upward slightly to alignthe slot with the flange whereby it may be moved forwardly to move therear member forwardly of the flange.

13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures llhlillhinil SOFA BED ASSEMBLY Thisinvention relates to a sofa'bed of the type which may be converted froma sofa to a bed. Such sofa bed assemblies normally include a seat frameand a back frame which are normally disposed in a coplanar relationshipwith one another when in the bed position and wherein the back frame isdisposed in an upright position extending upwardly from the seat framewhen in the seat position.

There are numerous prior art assemblies which interconnect the seatframe and back frame for moving the frames between the bed and seatpositions. Normally, such assemblies are fairly complex and include aplurality of interconnected components. Such assemblies very frequentlyinclude latching members which coact between the seat and back frames.Such an assembly is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,343,642 wherein there isdisclosed a latch member which coacts between the seat frame and theback frame but wherein the seat frame must be pivoted forwardly andupwardly as the back frame is moved to the bed position and thereafterpivoted forwardly to unlatch the assembly to allow the seat frame tomove to the bed position.

Accordingly, it is an object and feature of this invention to provide asofa bed assembly including an improved and simplified cam means forfacilitating the movement of the seat and back frames between the seatand bed positions.

In correlation with the foregoing object and feature, it is anotherobject and feature of this invention to provide such a sofa bed assemblyincluding cam means movable to a locked position for moving the backframe from the bed position to the seat position and for automaticallymoving to a release position when the frames are in the seat positionand the seat frame is pivoted upwardly relative to the back frame toallow the frames to be moved to the bed position.

In correlation with the foregoing objects and features, it is anotherobject and feature of this invention to provide such as assembly whereinthe cam means includes a reaction means extending from the back frameand a cam member rotatably connected to the seat frame in a pendulummanner for engaging the reactionmeans in the locked position and forpivoting to the release position out of engagement with the reactionmeans under the force of gravity.

Other objects and attendant advantages of the present in vention will bereadily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by referenceto the following detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of theinstant invention shown in the seat position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1shown in the bed position;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1showing the seat frame raised in preparation for moving the back frameto the seat position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the camming meansinterconnecting the seat and back frame and looking from the center ofthe assembly outwardly;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially alongline 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the latch means utilizedwith the instant invention;

FIG. 7 is an elevational side view partially broken away of anotherpreferred embodiment of the instant invention; and

FIG. 8 is a view taken substantially along line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

Referring now to the drawings, sofa bed assemblies constructed inaccordance with the instant invention are generally shown at 10 and 10'respectively. The two embodiments l0 and 10 differ from one another onlyin that the embodiment 10 includes an auxiliary frame 12' in place ofthe links 12 in the embodiment 10 so that the auxiliary frame 12 definesadditional bed area whereby the embodiment 10 forms a wider bed than theembodiment 10. Since the other components of the two embodiments are thesame, the two embodiments will be described concurrently, with likenumerals indicating like or corresponding parts throughout the severalviews. Further, it will be understood that throughout the several views,only one end or side of the sofa bed is shown and that the parts areduplicated on the other side.

The sofa bed assembly includes a support means generally indicated at14. The support means 14 includes a channel or C-shaped member defininga track. The track is supported on a wall 16 by elongated wood members18 which are in turn secured to the wall 16. The sofa bed assembly ofthe instant invention is particularly well suited for installation inmobile homes by attaching the wood members 18 to the support structurein a mobile home.

Also included is a seat frame generally indicated at 20 and a back framegenerally indicated at 22. The seat frame 20 also includes legs 21 forsupporting the seat frame 20 on a floor or the like.

A connection means supports the frames 20 and 22 on the support means 14for pivotal movement relative to one another and movement between theupright seat position and a lowered bed position. The connection meansincludes a pivot means comprising a roller 24 movably supported by thesupport means or track 14 with a pin or shaft 26 extending therefrom topivotally interconnect the seat and back frames 20 and 22.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the connection means also includes thelinks 12 which are pivotally connected at a first extremity 28 to theback frame 22 and are pivotally connected at a second extremity 30 tothe track 14. The links 12 are connected to the back frame 22intermediate the front and rear or top and bottom extremities thereof. Aplate 32 is welded or otherwise secured to the track 14 and pivotallysupports the lower end of the associated link 12. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 7 and 8, the connection means includes the auxiliary frame 12which is pivotally connected to the back frame 22 at the top or rearextremity 34 and at the opposite end at 36 to a bracket 38, the bracket38 forming a part of the suppo means and being attached to the track 14.

The assembly also includes cam means including reaction means or plates42 and cam members 40. Cam members 40 are movable to a locked position,as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8, for moving the back frame22 from the bed position to the seat position and for automaticallymoving to a release position, as shown in FIG. 2 when the frames 20 and22 are in the seat position and the seat frame is pivoted upwardlyrelative to the back frame to allow the cam members 40 to disengage thereaction plates 42. The reaction plates 42 extend from the back frame ina forward or downward direction depending upon the disposition of theback frame 22. The cam members 40 are rotatably connected to the seatframe 20 in a pendulum fashion for engaging the reaction plates 42 inthe locked position and for pivoting to the release position out ofengagement with reaction plates under the force of gravity.

The reaction plates 42 each include a front end 44 and a top surface 46.Each top surface 46 extends rearwardly from the upper extremity of thefront end 44 when the reaction plates 42 are in the bed position asillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The shaft 26, which pivotallyinterconnects the seat and back frames 20 and 22, pivotallyinterconnects the seat frame 20 and the reaction plates 42 at a pointrearwardly of the front end 44 of the reaction plates 42. The reactionplates 42 are attached to the back frame 22 with rivets 48 or the likefor allowing a limited amount of relative pivotal movement between thereaction plates 42 and the back frame 22. The reaction plates 42 pivotrelative to the back frame 22 about the axis of the upward or rearwardrivet 48 and such pivotal movement is limited by the elongated slot inthe reaction plates 42 which extends about the lower or forward rivet48.

Each cam member 40 includes a downwardly facing cam surface 50 when thecam member 40 is in the release or pendant position as when the assemblyis in the bed position as illustrated in FIG. 2. The cam member 40 isrotatably connected to the seat frame 20 forwardly of the front end 44of the reaction plate 42 so that the cam members 40 engage the frontends 44 of the reaction plates 42 as the seat frame 20 is pivotedupwardly from the bed position, as illustrated in phantom in FIG. 3.Each cam 40 engages the front end 44 of the adjacent reaction plateduring this movement until the cam member 40 clears the upper extremityof the front end 44 and rotates under the force of gravity to a positionwhere the cam surface 50 thereof engages the top surface 46 of thereaction plate, as illustrated in full lines in FIG. 3. Thereafter theseat frame 20 is pivoted downwardly and the force thereof is transmittedthrough the cams 40 to the reaction plates 42 to raise and move the backframe 22 to the seat position. The cam surface 50 of each cam member 40is closer to the axis of rotation of the cam member in a rearwarddirection as the cam member is disposed in the release position shown inFIG. 2. In other words, the axis of rotation of the cam member 40 isdefined by the pin or rivet 54 and the camming surface 50 moves in astraight path rearwardly from the point 56 of the cam member 50 and thenin an arcuate path inwardly toward the axis of rotation as defined bythe pin or rivet 54. Because of the configuration of the cam surface 50,cam member 40 is allowed to rotate under the force of gravity from thelocked position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7, where the cam surfaces 50engage the reaction plates 42, to the release position out of engagementwith the reaction plates in response to upward pivotal movement of theseat frame when the latter is in the seat position. In other words, whenthe assembly is in the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 or 7, the seatframe 20 may be pivoted upwardly slightly at its front end to disengagethe cam members 40 from the reaction plates 42 whereby the cam members40 will rotate under the force of gravity to the pendant position out ofengagement with the reaction plates 42. Thereafter, the seat frame 20may be pulled forwardly and the seat back frames will move and pivotrelative to the seat frames 20 to the bed position illustrated in FIG.2. As the seat frame 20 is moved between the seat and bed positions, therollers 24 move along the tracks 14.

The assembly also includes a latch means for retaining the frames 20 and22 in the seat position and for allowing the frames to be moved to thebed position. The latch means is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and is definedby a flange 70 which extends horizontally and laterally from the supportmeans. The flange 70 is actually part of a right-angle member whichincludes an upstanding flange 72 which is secured to the support meansor track 14. A rear member 74 of the seat frame has a slot 76 thereinwhich is disposed in an overlapping position above and rearwardly of theflange 70 when the assembly is in the seat position as illustrated inFIGS. 5 and 6. The flange 70 may be moved through the slot 76 and intothe overlapping position illustrated in FIG. 6 as the frames 20 and 22are moved to the seat position for preventing forward movement of theframes by coaction between the flange 70 and the rear member 74. Theframes 20 and 22 are thusly prevented from moving to the bed positionuntil the seat frame 20 is pivoted slightly upwardly to align the slot76 with the flange 70 whereupon the seat frame 20 is moved forwardly tomove the rear member 74 forwardly of the flange 70 as the flange 70moves through the slot 76.

The operation may be explained by referring to FIGS. 1 through 6.Assuming that the assembly is in the bed position illustrated in FIG. 2,and it is desirable to move the assembly to the seat position, the seatframe 20 is pivoted upwardly as shown in FIG. 3. As the seat frame 20 ispivoted upwardly, the Cam 40 moves along and engages the front orforward end 44 of the reaction plate 42 until it passes the upperextremity thereof whereby it is free to rotate under the force ofgravity to the pendant position where its cam surface 50 will engage theupper surface 46 of the reaction plate 42 upon downward pivotal movementofthe seat frame 20. This downward pivotal movement of the seat frame 20forces the back frame 22 to move upwardly to the seat position as theroller 24 moves rearwardly along the track 14. As the assemblyapproaches the seat position, the rear member 74 ofthe seat frame ispositioned to align the slot 76 therein with the flange to move the rearmember 74 to a position rearwardly of the flange 70 whereupon release ofthe seat frame 20 to allow the leg 21 to contact the floor, the flange70 and the rear member 74 will be disposed in mechanical overlappingrelationship preventing forward movement of the seat frame 20 to retainthe assembly in the seat position.

If it is desirous to move the assembly from the seat position to the bedposition, the seat frame 20 is raised slightly whereupon the earns 40will disengage the reaction plates 42 and rotate under the force ofgravity to a pendant position. At the same time, slot 76 will be alignedwith the flange 70 and the seat frame 20 moved forwardly until in thebed position shown in FIG. 2.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is tobe understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to bein the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A sofa bed assembly comprising; support means, a seat frame, a backframe, connection means supporting said frames on said support means forpivotal movement relative to one another and movement between an uprightseat position and a lowered bed position, and cam means movable to alocked position reacting between said frames for moving said back framefrom said bed position to said scat position and for automaticallymoving to a release position when said frames are in said seat positionand said seat frame is pivoted upwardly relative to said back frame toallow said frames to be moved to said bed position.

2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cam means includesreaction means extending from said back frame and a cam member rotatablyconnected to said seat frame for engaging said reaction means in thelocked position and for pivoting to said release position out ofengagement with said reaction means under the force of gravity.

3. An assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said reaction meansextends forwardly from said back frame when in said bed position andincludes a front end and a top surface extending rearwardly from theupper extremity of said front end, said connection means includes pivotmeans movably sup ported by said support means and pivotallyinterconnecting with said seat frame and said reaction means at a pointrearwardly of said front end of said reaction means, said cam memberincluding a downwardly facing cam surface when said cam member is insaid release position and said assembly is in said bed position, saidcam member being rotatably connected to said seat frame forwardly ofsaid front end of said reaction means so that said cam member engagessaid front end of said reaction means as said seat frame is pivotedupwardly from said bed position until said cam member clears the upperextremity of said front end and rotates under the force of gravity to aposition where said cam surface engages said top surface of saidreaction means as said seat frame is pivoted downwardly for moving saidback frame to said seat position.

4. An assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said cam surface of saidcam member is closer to the axis of rotation of said cam member in arearward direction as said cam member is in said release position forallowing said cam member to rotate under the force of gravity from saidlocked position where said cam surface engages said reaction means tosaid release position out of engagement with said reaction means inresponse to upward pivotal movement of said seat frame when in said seatposition.

5. An assembly as set forth in claim 4 wherein said reaction meansincludes a reaction plate attached to each side of said back frame, andincluding a pair of cam members with one rotatably connected to eachside of said seat frame.

6. An assembly as st forth in claim 5 including latch means forretaining said frames in said seat position and for allowing said framesto be moved to said bed position.

7. An assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said support meansincludes a track to support said pivot means for forward and rearwardmovement.

8. An assembly as set forth in claim 7 wherein said connection meansfurther includes a linkage means pivotally connected at a firstextremity thereof of said back frame and pivotally connected at a secondextremity thereof to said track.

9. An assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said linkage meanscomprises a link on each side of said back frame and pivotally connectedthereto intermediate the front and rear extremities of said back frame.

10. An assembly as set forth in claim 9 wherein said linkage meanscomprises an auxiliary frame pivotally connected to said back frame atthe rear extremity thereof and being a part of the bed when the assemblyis in said bed position.

11. An assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said reaction plates areattached to said back frame with means for allowing a limited amount ofrelative pivotal movement between said reaction plates and said backframe.

12. An assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said latch means isdefined by a flange extending from said support means, a rear member ofsaid seat frame having a slot therein which is disposed in anoverlapping position above and rearwardly of said flange when theassembly is in said seat position so that said flange may be movedthrough said slot and to said overlapping position as the frames aremoved to said seat position for preventing forward movement of saidframes by coaction between said flange and said rear member until saidseal frame is pivoted upward slightly to align said slot with saidflange and moved forwardly to move said rear member forwardly of saidflange.

13. A sofa bed assembly comprising; support means, a seat frame, a backframe, connection means supporting said frames on said support means forpivotal movement relative to one another and movement between an uprightseat position and a lowered bed position, a flange extending from saidsupport means, said seat frame including a rear member with a slottherein, said rear member being movable from one side of said flange tothe other in moving between said seat and bed positions, said slot beingdisposed in an overlapping position above and rearwardly of said flangewhen the assembly is in said seat position so that the flange may bemoved through said slot to said overlapping position as said rear memberis moved rearwardly therepast in moving to said seat position forpreventing forward movement of said frames by coaction between saidflange and said rear member until said seat frame is pivoted upwardslightly to align said slot with said flange and moved forwardly to movesaid rear member forwardly of said flange.

1. A sofa bed assembly comprising; support means, a seat frame, a back frame, connection means supporting said frames on said support means for pivotal movement relative to one another and movement between an upright seat position and a lowered bed position, and cam means movable to a locked position reacting between said frames for moving said back frame from said bed position to said seat position and for automatically moving to a release position when said frames are in said seat position and said seat frame is pivoted upwardly relative to said back frame to allow said frames to be moved to said bed position.
 2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cam means includes reaction means extending from said back frame and a cam member rotatably connected to said seat frame for engaging said reaction means in the locked position and for pivoting to said release position out of engagement with said reaction means under the force of gravity.
 3. An assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said reaction means extends forwardly from said back frame when in said bed position and includes a front end and a top surface extending rearwardly from the upper extremity of said front end, said connection means includes pivot means movably supported by said support means and pivotally interconnecting with said seat frame and said reaction means at a point rearwardly of said front end of said reaction means, said cam member including a downwardly facing cam surface when said cam member is in said release position and said assembly is in said bed position, said cam member being rotatably connected to said seat frame forwardly of said front end of said reaction means so that said cam member engages said front end of said reaction means as said seat frame is pivoted upwardly from said bed position until said cam member clears the upper extremity of said front end and rotates under the force of gravity to a position where said cam surface engages said top surface of said reaction means as said seat frame is pivoted downwardly for moving said back frame to said seat position.
 4. An assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said cam surface of said cam member is closer to the axis of rotation of said cam member in a rearward direction as said cam member is in said release position for allowing said cam member to rotate under the force of gravity from said locked position where said cam surface engages said reaction means to said release position out of engagement with said reaction means in response to upward pivotal movement of said seat frame when in said seat position.
 5. An assembly as set forth in claim 4 wherein said reaction means includes a reaction plate attached to each side of said back frame, and including a pair of cam members with one rotatably connected to each side of said seat frame.
 6. An assembly as st forth in claim 5 including latch means for retaining said frames in said seat position and for allowing said frames to be moved to said bed position.
 7. An assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said support means includes a track to support said pivot means for forward and rearward movement.
 8. An assembly as set forth in claim 7 wherein said connection means further includes a linkage means pivotally connected at a first extremity thereof of said back frame and pivotally connected at a second extremity thereof to said track.
 9. An assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said linkage means comprises a link on each side of said back frame and pivotally connected thereto intermediate the front and rear extremities of said back frame.
 10. An assembly as set forth in claim 9 wherein said linkage means comprises an auxiliary frame pivotally connected to said back frame at the rear extremity thereof and being a part of the bed when the assembly is in saId bed position.
 11. An assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said reaction plates are attached to said back frame with means for allowing a limited amount of relative pivotal movement between said reaction plates and said back frame.
 12. An assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said latch means is defined by a flange extending from said support means, a rear member of said seat frame having a slot therein which is disposed in an overlapping position above and rearwardly of said flange when the assembly is in said seat position so that said flange may be moved through said slot and to said overlapping position as the frames are moved to said seat position for preventing forward movement of said frames by coaction between said flange and said rear member until said seat frame is pivoted upward slightly to align said slot with said flange and moved forwardly to move said rear member forwardly of said flange.
 13. A sofa bed assembly comprising; support means, a seat frame, a back frame, connection means supporting said frames on said support means for pivotal movement relative to one another and movement between an upright seat position and a lowered bed position, a flange extending from said support means, said seat frame including a rear member with a slot therein, said rear member being movable from one side of said flange to the other in moving between said seat and bed positions, said slot being disposed in an overlapping position above and rearwardly of said flange when the assembly is in said seat position so that the flange may be moved through said slot to said overlapping position as said rear member is moved rearwardly therepast in moving to said seat position for preventing forward movement of said frames by coaction between said flange and said rear member until said seat frame is pivoted upward slightly to align said slot with said flange and moved forwardly to move said rear member forwardly of said flange. 